not a free election. >> even not having a free election, you had enormous evolution occur among people who were at one time diehard revolutionaries. i suggested evolution will be greater under a democratic system when you have as much voting as we have had in iran. >> we have to leave it there. please give a round of applause to our panelists. [applause] >> this morning on "washington journal," we look at recent developments on the ground in syria. host: thanks for being with us. have we turned a corner with regards to the situation in syria? caller: it seems to me it is an important juncture, perhaps a crossroads. turning a corner might be going a bit far. president assad still has substantial military capabilities, quite a bit of support. he still has control of the capital. it is a little bit hard to say. clearly the risk and an upswing on the rebel side. -- there has been an upswing on the rebel side. i think there is momentum in favor of the rebels, but this still seems to be a conflict that can go on for a long time. host: if the regime fails, it president assad is forced out, wh